LEFT COAST WRITERS BOOK LAUNCH:Â Jonathan Taylor, Author of The Rites of Passage
Saturday, October 13th, 2018 || 7pm Book Passage-Corte Madera|| 51 Tamal Vista Dr. Corte Madera || www.bookpassage.com
This month we invite you to a launch event for Jonathan Taylor’s debut novel, The Rites of Passage.
Jamie Goldberg suspects his homosexuality at an early age and manages to hide it from his homophobic ’70s Detroit Community; his Jewish political activist parents; and even from himself until his rape, at the hands of a male prostitute, at the age of 15. Profoundly ashamed, he hides in two worlds one is a beautiful cocoon spun from music, art, theater and literature, another is shadowed with his sado-masochistic desire to obliterate his sexuality. His elaborate fantasies are no match for real life or his true affections, which blossom in spite of his constant attempts to thwart them. When his carefully constructed imaginary world begins to crumble, Jamie must face his demons, both real and invented, finding in the end that personal discovery comes at a very high price. Jamie learns too that even the most challenged, when they dare to cast away labels, deserve a moment or two of grace.
Six-time Emmy award-winning writer Patrick Mulcahey said: “The Rites of Passage … is like encountering a gay Portnoy’s Complaint, in its distinctive blend of Jewishness, sex, moral panic and maternal dominance.” The Kirkus Review stated, “Jamie is thoughtful and highly sympathetic, and readers will be happy to follow him through the formative years of his youth. Taylor succeeds in capturing various moments (however painful or awkward) and revealing their importance.
Jonathan A. Taylor is a San Francisco-based writer and designer. He is a leading designer for creating user-friendly technology and has worked for com- panies such as Google, Nokia, IBM, and GE, as well as for the Dutch design bureaus Informaat and Stroomt Interactions. Jonathan has published two books on software design. The Rites of Passage is the first installment of a multi-volume series, The Goldberg Variations.
As this book will show, Jonathan’s passions include theater, opera, travel, social justice, and cooking. All of these passions figure prominently in his writing. A leader in the community of alternative sexuality, he is the title holder of the 2013 International Master/slave education title, which he earned with his now deceased husband Morris Taylor. The Goldberg Variations is Jonathan’s first work of fiction.